ARTIST STATEMENT
My works explore resilience as something carried in the body and passed across generations. In The Passage, a pregnant woman stands within a threshold space of the past and future at once. Pregnancy becomes a living metaphor for seeds as continuity – of lineage, culture, and resilient spirit. Cowrie shells appear as symbols of protection, fertility, ancestral memory, grounding the figure within diasporic traditions that endure. The second piece, Zoe: Haitian Rose, is an ode to Haiti and the strength embedded in its people. “Zoe”, derived from the Haitian Creole word for “bone”, speaks to being strong to the bone. Resilient, unbreakable and bound by shared roots. Cowries cover the figures chest as cultural armor. The background pattern incorporates sideways H forms and the colors of the Haitian flag. The reference to national identity highlights the seeds of the diaspora that spread throughout the Caribbean and South America. Within Seeds of Resilience, these works honor the Black feminine body as both vessel and archive, carrying cultural knowledge, ancestral protection and possibility forward. Across my practice I center dignity, inherent worth, and Black lived experience. Resilience is also a recurring theme in my work and I am interested in how it reveals itself through posture, gaze and presence.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sharon L. Bjyrd is a self-taught visual artist originally from Chicago and based in Madison, Wisconsin. Her work centers dignity, inherent worth and Black lived experience. Through figurative painting, mixed media and symbolic elements, she explores resilience, joy, rest and cultural continuity. Sharon has presented three solo and numerous group exhibits throughout Wisconsin and Chicago, including recent work at Overture Galleries in Madison. Her artwork is held in the permanent collections of Madison College and University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. She has completed several public art commissions; participated in the State St Mural Project and its resulting publication and held a multi-year licensing agreement with a national retailer. In addition to her studio practice, Sharon is an experienced curator and community collaborator. She curated I Am A Man: The Re-humanization of Black Men, an immersive exhibit presented in a public library that included performance based activations and interactive components. Across her work she is committed to creating art that resonates both visually and emotionally while expanding access to meaningful cultural dialogue.
© Sharon L Bjyrd